From my early days as an affiliate owner, I have been driven by the adage that the “blind and relentless pursuit of excellence ” is what determines success. This stunningly simple and profound recommendation that Coach Greg Glassman spread to the affiliate Community years ago was one of the original things that drew me to becoming a CrossFit affiliate owner.

I believe in the pursuit of excellence and have centered my entire business on this concept. At first glance, the notion of excellence can seem broad, general and vague. Sure, excellence is a noble goal worthy of any business owner’s time and effort, but how does the pursuit of excellence drive the day-to-day operations of an affiliate? I believe understanding this concept can direct decisions, establish core values and competencies, and ultimately determine the success of an affiliate.

The pursuit of excellence, in regards to operating a world-class CrossFit affiliate, has everything to do with your current members. It has to do with their happiness inside and outside the walls of your gym. It relates to their growing confidence and their acceptance as a part of your community, and it has to do with their health, wellness, fitness and results. In other words, the pursuit of excellence is the pursuit of improving the lives of your members.

This seems simple enough, and it is. Just don’t confuse simple with easy.

CrossFit is training for the unknown and unknowable, but for top athletes, knowing the date of game day changes the game, Ben Bergeron says.

“We’re no longer training for the unknown and unknowable. We’re no longer training for ‘a constant, ready state,’” the co-owner and head coach of CrossFit New England says of athletes competing at Regionals and the CrossFit Games.

He adds: “We know when game day is. It’s the middle of July.”

Likewise, Bergeron breaks up the year so his athletes peak at the Games:

August: rest and recovery.

September and October: strength.

November and December: speed strength.

January: solely dedicated to weaknesses.

February and March: met-cons.

April and May: Regional prep.

June and July: Games prep.

In the case of Regional competition, where the workouts are known weeks before game day, it’s “irresponsible” not to train the movements if the goal is to go the Games, Bergeron says.

“Those six weeks, we are no longer CrossFitters,” he explains. “We are deadlift-box jump specialists, we are thruster specialists, we are Amanda specialists. … We specialize those workouts. We excel at them. We know the workouts inside, outside cold, frontwards and backwards. We know exactly the stimulus. … We are peaked at those movements.”